[2] He studied at Victoria University College from 1947 to 1952, graduating with a Master of Arts with second-class honours in 1953.
[2][3] He was then awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and undertook doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley, from where he gained a PhD in January 1958.
[2] In 1957, Dawson was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Botany at Victoria University College (from 1962 known as Victoria University of Wellington), and remained there until his retirement in 1988, having risen to the rank of associate professor.
[6] Dawson's research covered the characteristics, relationships and history of New Zealand plants.
[1] After his retirement from Victoria, Dawson continued his botanical research in New Caledonia, he ran extension courses on the native plants of New Zealand, and was a guide at Ōtari-Wilton's Bush.